Incinerators

ABSTRACT

An incinerator is disclosed consisting of at least one oil burner having its fuel composed at least in part of waste oil and atomized by steam. The burner is axially positioned in an outwardly flared, elongated combustion chamber through which a large volume of air is eddied to cooperate with the steam in vaporizing the oil. Non-liquid wet wastes are conveyed through a dryer to the combustion chamber via a collector. The combustion chamber includes an auxiliary chamber provided with an oil burner and opening into a refuse collecting chamber having a vertical stack equipped with after burners. Other types of waste may also be discharged into the auxiliary combustion chamber. The disclosed embodiment of the invention also includes a battery of such burners with their combustion chambers in communication with a plenum in the air delivery system.

United States Patent [1 1 Dingwell [451 Oct. 1, 1974 INCINERATORS [76] Inventor: Richard A. Dingwell, Gray, Maine [22] Filed: Mar. 14, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 341,054 7 [52] US. Cl. 110/7 S, 431/163, 431/278, 431/353 [51] Int. Cl. F23g 7/00 [58] Field of Search..; 110/7 R, 7 S, 8 R, 8 C; 431/163, 278, 353

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,976,528 10/1934 Vandeveer ..431/163X 2,008,559 7/1935 McElvaney... 431/163 X 2,030,531 2/1936 Ohlsson 431/163 X 3,718,102 2/1973 Hemsath et al.. 110/7 3,734,035 5/1973 Whitfield 110/7 3,757,706 9/1973 Pariel et al.... 110/7 3,766,867 10/1973 De Angelis 1 10/7 Primary Examinerl(enneth W. Sprague [57] ABSTRACT An incinerator is disclosed consisting of at least one oil burner having its fuel composed at least in part of waste oil and atomized by steam. The burner is axially positioned in an outwardly flared, elongated combustion chamber through which a large volume of air is eddied to cooperate with the steam in vaporizing the oil. Non-liquid wet wastes are conveyed through a dryer to the combustion chamber via a collector. The combustion chamber includes an auxiliary chamber provided with an oil burner and opening into a refuse collecting chamber having a vertical stack equipped with after burners. Other types of waste may also be discharged into the auxiliary combustion chamber. The disclosed embodiment of the invention also includes a battery of such burners with their combustion chambers in communication with a plenum in the air delivery system.

11 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures mgmgnum 1 1914 $838,651 sum 30F 5 FIG. 4

INCINERATORS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION While almost everyone is well aware that there is a wide range of pollution problems, many specific disposal problems are less commonly appreciated such as those relating to waste oils, oily wastes, oil-carrying and oil-saturated materials, and various other liquids, solids, and semi-solids that must or can be incinerated and materials that even if they cannot be completely burned can be broken down by heat into forms more suitable for disposal.

One example of such disposal problems is that represented by used crankcase oil of which substantial volumes regularly accummulate at garages and service stations and for which there is presently no market except in those few areas where rerefineries exist. Collection services are usually available but the disposition of such oil presents problems since, if conventionally burned, an oily smoke results.

The dangers of oil spills are featured as are the difficulty of effecting clean ups after they occur but atroublesome consequence is the disposal of oil that cannot be reclaimed, oil-saturated hay or other materi- THE PRESENT INVENTION A principal objective ofthe present invention is to provide a primary incinerator usable by itself to incinerate waste oils or in combination with and as a means for at least partially incinerating waste materials delivered into its combustion chamber from a dryer or other source.

Another principal objective of the invention is to provide an incinerator plant consisting of a primary incinerator in communication with a waste collector having a stack. The primary incinerator provides in its combustion chamber a spinning gas stream and the plant includes means to deliver into the combustion chamber materials to be incinerated and a specific objective is to provide that such materials be introduced into the combustion chamber as a stream to cause or assist the spinning of the hot gas stream therein and supplementing the air supply.

A further objective of the invention is to provide the combustion chamber with an auxiliary oil burner and to employ an auxiliary combustion chamber between it and the waste collector.

Yet another objective of the invention is to incorporate in the stack of the collector a pair of after-burners arranged and disposed to cause the spinning of the exhaust stream.

Another objective of the invention is to provide an incinerator having a combustion chamber into which an oil burner extends, the oil burner of a type in which the fuel is discharged as a spinning, steam-atomized stream enveloped at its muzzle end by a spinning. oilatomizing air stream.

Yet another principal objective of the invention is to provide a waste oil incinerator consisting of an oil burner of a type having its fuel atomized by steam and air and axially located within an outwardly and forwardly tapering combustion chamber through which a substantial but adjustable air stream is established by a blower. The fuel supply includes both waste oil and commercial grade fuel oil sources, each provided with adjustable controls as is the steam source. Both the atomized fuel and the air stream are eddied or spun, desirably both in the same direction.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a battery of such incinerators having a common plenum in which there is a damper control for regulating the air supply for each incinerator or for isolating that incinerator from the plenum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 4 is a view of the inner wall of the plenum with the oil and steam conduits and part of that wall broken away;

FIG. 5 is a section, on an increase in scale, taken approximately along the indicated line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section, also on an increase in scale, taken approximately along the indicated line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a somewhat schematic view of the oil and steam delivery system limited to that of but one of the primary incinerators to simplify the drawings;

FIG. 8 is a view taken approximately along the indi- I cated line 88 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a section taken approximately along the indicated line 9-9 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal section of a commercially available oil burner that has proved effective in use.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION The preferred embodiment of an incinerator plant in accordance with the invention consists of a battery of primary incinerators generally indicated at 20, a dryer unit generally indicated at 21 feeding a collector, generally indicated at 22 and from which dried material is discharged into the combustion chamber 23 of one of the incinerators 20 which chamber is placed in communication with a refuse collector 24 by an auxiliary combustion chamber 25. The refuse collector 24 has a stack 26. The primary and auxiliary cbmbustion charnbers, the refuse collector and its stack are each conventionally lined with fire brick.

Turning first to the battery of primary incinerators 20, see particularly FIGS. 4 9, a plenum 27 that is or may be part of a wall of a control room, not shown,

which, in practice houses a boiler providing a steam supply in the neighborhood of one hundred pounds gauge pressure. The inner wall of the plenum has an annular flange 28 for the support of a blower 29 and providing a port into which its discharge port opens. The blower 29 is shown as of a turbine type and driven by steam with a steam infeed pipe 30 and valve controlled exhaust 31. The blower port is located below but spaced substantially equally from each of three identical, forwardly and outwardly tapering combustion chambers 23 shown as of circular cross section, each having an oil burner, generally indicated at 32 and shown in detail in FIG. 10. Each oil burner 32 is removably held axially of its combustion chamber 23 by a tubular receiver 33 that is supported at its rear end by the rear wall of the plenum 27 and at its front end by a disc 34 fitting the combustion chamber 23 and providing a transverse partition. The muzzle of each burner 32 is exposed forwardly of the disc 34 and each disc has radial ports 35provided with vanes 36 so inclined as to impart a rotary or spinning motion to the air stream passing through it, see FIGS. 5 and 8.

Each oil burner 32 has, within the plenum 27, an encircling damper assembly, generally indicated at 37. As may best be seen in FIGS. 5 and 9, each damper assembly 37 has annular supports 38 mounted on the interior surfaces of the plenum walls interconnected by rods 39, each hingedly supporting an arcuate vane 40. The vanes 39, 40 are so dimensioned that in their closed position, each rests on the hinged end of the next adjacent vane to encircle an oil burner 32. A rotatable ring 41 within the support 39 on theinner plenum wall has a series of arms 42 pivotably connected thereto, one arm for each vane and pivotally connected to the central portion of its inner surface. The ring 41 is provided with a shifter 43 extending through an arcuate slot 44 in the inner wall of the plenum and of such length that the shifter may be turned in one direction to swing the vanes 40 outwardly and in the other direction to draw them inwardly so that each combustion chamber 23 not only has a means for adjusting the volume of air supplied thereto by the blower 29 but also may be isolated from the plenum air in the event it is to be placed out of service.

Each oil burner 32 is shown as having an axial oil inlet 45 and, forward thereof, a steam inlet 46. While any oil burner may be used in which steam is employed to ensure the correct atomization of the particular oil to be burned and capable of completely burning the fuel used therewith, those manufactured by the DeVoe Anti-Pollution Burner Corporation of Portland, Me., have proved satisfactory in use. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,176,921 and 3,556,408.

Each such burner, see FIG. 10, has an axial inner tube 47 within and spaced from its outer barrel 48 with the inlet 45 in communication with the tube 47 which has a fuel spinner 49 of the same hand as the fuel spinner 50 at the muzzle of the barrel 48. The steam inlet 46 is in communication with the space betweenthe tube 47 and the barrel 48. The steam inlet 46 is in communication with the space between the tube 47 and the barrel 48. The space between the spinners 49 and 50 provides a chamber 51 into which both fuel and steam is delivered with the fuel being thereby subject to being atomized with the discharged fuel stream enveloped in a spinning air stream that also assists in so atomizing the oil that it is in prime condition for complete combustion.

While the burners 32 will of course function properly with commercial grades of fuel oil, one important feature of the invention is that various waste oils, crankcase oil, for one example, or salvaged oil even if not completely freed of water, for another example, may be efficiently and completely burned and usefully employed to incinerate other materials, for one example, or to generate steam, for another example.

To this end, see FIG. 7, a main oil supply conduit 52 from a waste oil tank, not shown, and provided with filtering means 53 extends through a steam operated heater 54 enabling the oil to be preheated up to about 250F depending on the viscosity of the fuel to be burned, such heating being particularly necessary with oils equivalent to Nos. 5, 6, and 7 fuel oils. The conduit 52 includes branch lines 55, one for each burner 32 but with only one shown to simplify the drawings. Each branch fuel line 55 is connected to the oil inlet 45 of the appropriate one of the burners 32 and is provided with, in the order named, a valve-controlled line 56 to return oil to the source tank, a shut off valve 57, a check valve 58, a volume control valve 59 and a valve 60.

An auxiliary oil conduit 61 from a tank, not shown, for a commercial grade of fuel oil is also provided with branch lines 62, one for each burner 32 and connected to its branch line 55 and having a volume control valve 63 and a check valve 64. Each branch line 62 is also provided with a line 65 to a pilot burner 66 for the associated oil burner 32 and provided with a manually operated valve 67 and a solenoid operated valve 68 for remote control purposes with the ignition circuit for the pilot burner indicated generally at 69.

A steam line 70 has a branch line 71 for each burner 32 and connected to its steam inlet 46. Each branch line 71 is provided with a reducing valve 72 located between shut-off valves 73 and a loop 74 for the pressure gauge 75. There is also a conduit 76 bypassing the pressure reducing valve 71 and provided with a shut-off valve 77 that is opened should the valve 72 require servicing or replacement, the valves 73 then being closed. Each line 71 also has an adjustable valve 78, a check valve 79 and a shut-off valve 80. A branch line 81 normally closed by a valve 82 is in communication with the oil conduit 55 between the valves 58 and 59 for use in purging that line, when needed and the line 81 also has a check valve 83, the several check valves preventing back flows in the lines in which they are incorporated.

From the above description of the main incinerators 20, it will be seen that oil and steam volumes and proportions delivered to each burner 32 may be controlled as needed as can the amount of regular fuel oil and air required to provide complete combustion.

In practice, the operation of the primary incinerators 20 depends on the condition and quality of the waste oil to be delivered to their burners 32. The preheater 54 has the important function of ensuring that the viscosity of the oil is within a range suitable for the burners. For that reason, each oil line 55 is provided with a temperature gauge 84 in order that the operator may set the valves to return oil to the tank through the line 56 if its viscosity is too high. Some waste oils can be burned cleanly by themselves while others may require the addition of auxiliary fuel oil in varying proportions.

The complete combustion of the waste oils in a primary incinerator results from the atomization of the fuel by spinning streams and air streams in a combustion chamber that is outwardly and forwardly tapered with all components regulatable to ensure optimum combinations. While in practice, a taper for the combustion chambers 23 in the order of 30 has proved satisfactory, the taper angle may be varied substantially as can the cross sectional areas of the chambers 23 relative to their oil burners 32. As the disclosed embodiment of the invention is concerned with complete combustion in a wide range of uses with fuel varying greatly in quality, the chambers 23 are dimensioned to insure that sufficient air may be delivered therethrough under any conditions as thermal efficiency is secondary to the objective that complete combustion be attained under even the most unfavorable conditions.

The auxiliary combustion chamber 25 is shown as cylindrical and of a diameter greater than that of the outlet end of the primary incinerator of which it is a part, necessitating the use of an intermediate frustoconical transition section 85. The auxiliary chamber is mounted on a base 86 and has a laterally disposed cylindrical housing 87 whose axis defines an acute angle with that of the chamber 25 with respect to the hot gas flow therethrough. The housing 87 is closed by a detachable end section 88 axially supporting an auxiliary oil burner 89 and and blower 90.

The waste or refuse box or chamber 25 has a base 91 and is provided with a cleanout door 92 in one side and a service door 93 in its outer end wall provided with an inspection port 94 in a position permitting the operator to see through the chamber 25 into the primary incinerator 20 with which it is in communication. The stack 26 of the refuse box 24 is of circular section and its wall supports a pair of oppositely disposed, vertically spaced, parallel oil burners 95 each substantially tangential with respect to the inner surface of the stack 26 thereby to effect a spinning of the exhaust gases. The burners 95 and the burner 89 may be of any type that completely burns its fuel. Desirably, they are of the type in which the atomized fuel is spun.

The incinerator plant as thus far detailed is adapted to receive in its primary incinerator 20 materials that are to be incinerated, or to be broken down by heat for disposal purposes. In the illustrative embodiment of the invention, such materials are sufficiently wet, semisolid wastes or waste materials that are too wet to burn so that the incinerator requires the use of the dryer unit 21. While the dryer 21 may be of other types, in practice, it is of a conventional drum type receiving wet materials from a load-receiving hopper by means of a conveyor, the'hopper and conveyor are shown schematically in FIG. 1 and indicated at 96 and 97, respectively.

The dried material is transferred into the upper end of the collector 22 through a conduit 98, the transfer being effected by suction. To achieve that result, see FIGS. 2 and 2A, the intake of a blower 99 is connected to an intake conduit 100 extending downwardly into the collector 22 well beyond the discharge end of the conduit 98. The outlet of the blower 99 includes a conduit 101 with which the discharge 102 of the collector 22 is in communication. As may be seen in FIG. 2A, the escape of dried material through the discharge 102 is controlled by a rotatable gate 103 provided with a series of radial blades 104. The gate 103 has its shaft pro vided with a sprocket 105. A drive chain 106 is trained about the sprocket 105 and the sprocket 107 on the shaft of a motor 108, desirably of a variable speed type. The chain and sprockets are protected by a guard 109. The conduit 101 opens into the combustion chamber 23 substantially tangentially with respect to its inner surface to convey the dried material in an air stream that assists the spinning of the flame and ensures the exposure of the dried material thereto. The above arrangement is also effective in withdrawing gases formed in the dryer 21 and delivering them into the chamber 23 where they burn. In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, no means are disclosed for separating the dried materials from the gases in the conduit 101.

In order that materials can be incinerated without first passing through the dryer 21, the auxiliary combustion chamber 25 supports a closed chute 110 opening into it and provided with a blower 111 and a port 112 through which materials may be delivered as by a conveyor, not shown. Under many conditions of use, it is not necessary to use the burners 95 as combustion is usually completed in the auxiliary chamber 25.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that incinerator means are provided capable of incinerating a wide range of materials even where waste oils are utilized in the primary burners with the waste oils constituting low cost fuel for uses of which incinerating is but one example.

I claim:

1. An incinerator for waste oilscomprising an outwardly and forwardly tapering combustion chamber and an oil burner within the rear part of the chamber, means supporting said burner axially of the chamber, an oil supply in communication with the burner and including a valve controlled waste oil supply conduit and a valve controlled supply conduit for a commercial grade of fuel oil, and means to provide a spinning stream of atomized fuel at the muzzle of the burner, said means including separate steam and air delivery means both including adjustable controls and with one in communication with the oil within the burner and the other in communication with the chamber and operable to provide a stream extending therethrough and enveloping the muzzle of the burner.

2. The incinerator of claim 1 in which the steam delivery means is in communication with the oil within the burner and the air delivery means is in communication with the chamber.

3. The incinerator of claim 2 in which at least the air delivery means includes means to effect a spinning air stream at the muzzle of the burner.

4. The incinerator of claim 1 in which both the air delivery and the stream delivery means include means to effect the spinning of the respective fluids before they merge at the muzzle of the burner.

5. The incinerator of claim 4 in which the spinning means effect the spinning of the fluids in the same direction.

6. The incinerator of claim 1 in which both oil supply conduits and the steam delivery means include check valves in order to prevent back flows.

7. The incinerator of claim 1 in which the supporting means includes a tubular receiver extending axially into the rear end of the chamber, the oil burner is removably supported thereby, and the receiver includes vaned ports and provides a partition rearwardly of the muzzle of the burner with vaned ports effecting a spinning of the air delivered through said ports.

8. A waste oil incinerator plant comprising a battery of forwardly and outwardly tapering combustion chambers, a plenum with which the rear portion of each chamber is in communication, air delivery means in communication with the interior of said plenum, oil burners, one for each combustion chamber and positioned axially thereof with its rear end extending through the plenum, and damper means for each combustion chamber and operable to place the interior of the plenum in communication therewith, an oil supply conduit in communication with each burner and including a waste oil branch and a branch for a commercial grade of fuel oil, both branches including adjustable valves, and a steam conduit in communication with each burner and operable to subject the oil sup- 11. The waste oil incinerator plant of claim 10 in which each tubular receiver includes a disc providing a barrier within the associated combustion chamber and the disc includes vaned ports admitting air through it but causing the admitted air to spin in a predetermined direction. 

1. An incinerator for waste oils comprising an outwardly and forwardly tapering combustion chamber and an oil burner within the rear part of the chamber, means supporting said burner axially of the chamber, an oil supply in communication with the burner and including a valve controlled waste oil supply conduit and a valve controlled supply conduit for a commercial grade of fuel oil, and means to provide a spinning stream of atomized fuel at the muzzle of the burner, said means including separate steam and air delivery means both including adjustable controls and with one in communication with the oil within the burner and the other in communication with the chamber and operable to provide a stream extending therethrough and enveloping the muzzle of the burner.
 2. The incinerator of claim 1 in which the steam delivery means is in communication with the oil within the burner and the air delivery means is in communication with the chamber.
 3. The incinerator of claim 2 in which at least the air delivery means includes means to effect a spinning air stream at the muzzle of the burner.
 4. The incinerator of claim 1 in which both the air delivery and the stream delivery means include means to effect the spinning of the respective fluids before they merge at the muzzle of the burner.
 5. The incinerator of claim 4 in which the spinning means effect the spinning of the fluids in the same direction.
 6. The incinerator of claim 1 in which both oil supply conduits and the steam delivery means include check valves in order to prevent back flows.
 7. The incinerator of claim 1 in which the supporting means includes a tubular receiver extending axially into the rear end of the chamber, the oil burner is removably supported thereby, and the receiver includes vaned ports and provides a partition rearwardly of the muzzle of the burner with vaned ports effecting a spinning of the air delivered through said ports.
 8. A waste oil incinerator plant comprising a battery of forwardly and outwardly tapering combustion chambers, a plenum with which the rear portion of each chamber is in communication, air delivery means in communication with the interior of said plenum, oil burners, one for each combustion chamber and positioned axially thereof with its rear end extending through the plenum, and damper means for each combustion chamber and operable to place the interior of the plenum in communication therewith, an oil supply conduit in communication with each burner and including a waste oil branch and a branch for a commercial grade of fuel oil, both branches including adjustable valves, and a steam conduit in communication with each burner and operable to subject the oil supplied thereto to an atomizing action and including an adjustable valve.
 9. The waste oil incinerator plant of claim 8 in which each oil supply branch and the steam conduit include check valves.
 10. The waste oil incinerator plant of claim 8 in which there is a tubular receiver for each oil burner, each receiver extending transversely through the plenum with its rear end supported thereby and the appropriate oil burner is removably held by the receiver.
 11. The waste oil incinerator plant of claim 10 in which each tubular receiver includes a disc providing a barrier within the associated combustion chamber and the disc includes vaned ports admitting air through it but causing the admitted air to spin in a predetermined direction. 